Combined handle and closure member



March 28, 1967 v Q D'| 7 3,311,144

, COMBINED HANDLE AND CLOSURE MEMBER Filed April 6, 1965 2 Sheets-Shec 1 36 4'6 T aamw g. lbs/our finm/ /14 A TEAM-X March 28, 1967 Q INDLEY I 331L144 COMBINED HANDLE AND CLOSURE MEMBER Filed April 6, 1965 ZShets-Sheet .2

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A 7' TOR/VEX United States Patent 3,311,144 COMBINED HANDLE AND CLOSURE MEMBER Donald C. Lindley, Greenlawn, N.Y., assiguor to Cellu- Craft Products COIIL, a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 445,928 8 Claims. (Cl. 150-3) This invention relates to handles for plastic bags and more particularly to integral handle and closure means adapted to make the bag reusable.

Sealed plastic bags of the type to be described hereinafter have utility not only as shopping bags but also as a sales promotion premium, an advertising medium and for specialized types of packaging. The bag assembly of the present invention provides means which inhibit pilfering of the items contained therein and which render the bag reusable after the seal has been broken and the bag opened.

In the present invention, the bag is sealed to two separate and separable closure members, one of which is provided with an integral handle portion. Resilient locking means provide means for reusing the bag once its initial purpose has been fulfilled. The bag may be initially sealed to make it pilferproof, however, it is reusable and retains utility thereafter by virtue of its integral locking means. A feature of the invention is that the members may be made by low cost extrusion processes.

The configuration of the closure means provides substantial support for the bag and its contents. Instead of merely abutting the opposed faces of the closure members, as is done in some of the prior art, the present invention provides that one closure member is nested Within the other closure member. In addition to the integrally formed locking means, the two closure members are firmly held together by clasping the inner closure member on at least three sides. In another embodiment, the inner closure member is encased on all four sides.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sealed plastic bag with a pair of integral, mating closure members that render the bag reusable.

Another object is to provide nesting closure members along substantially the entire open end of the aforementioned plastic bag.

An additional object is to provide plastic closure members that may he extruded and heat sealed to the aforementioned bag.

Still another object is to provide that one of the closure members be frangible along a perforated line so that the bag may readily be opened.

A further object is to provide that the bag be frangible along a perforated line proximate and parallel to one of the closure members so that the bag may readily be opened.

Another object is to provide that one of the closure members, as well as the bag, are frangible along parallel, perforated lines which define a tear strip so that the bag may readily be opened.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity and will, in part, become obvious from the following more detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which forms an integral part thereof.

In the various figures of the drawing, like reference characters designate like parts.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, side elevation view of one of the extruded plastic closure members;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional, vertical elevation view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1 and drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation view of the other one of the extruded mating plastic closure members;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional, vertical elevation view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3 and drawn on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation view of the closure members and the bag in the assembled condition with parts broken away;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional vertical elevation view taken along line 66 of FIG. 5 and drawn on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional, vertical elevation view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5 and drawn on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional, vertical elevation view taken along line 88 of FIG. 5 and drawn on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 9 and FIG. 9A are, respectively, a fragmentary side elevation view and a cross sectional, vertical elevation view drawn on an enlarged scale illustrating means to make one of the closure members frangible so that the bag may readily be opened;

FIG. 10 and FIG. 10A are, respectively, a fragmentary side elevation view and a cross sectional, vertical elevation view, drawn on an enlarged scale, illustrating means to make the bag frangible so that it may readily be opened.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 11A are, respectively, a fragmentary side elevation view and a cross sectional, vertical elevation view drawn on an enlarged scale illustrating means to make both the bag and one of the closure members frangible so that the bag may readily be opened;

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are cross sectional, vertical elevation views of alternative inner and outer closure members, respectively.

FIG. 14 illustrates the alternative inner and outer closure members in an assembled condition with a bag heat sealed thereto.

Referring now to the drawing and in particular to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, inner closure member 10 is formed by extruding a plastic such as polyethylene by conventional, Well known techniques to form a strip having the cross section shown in FIG. 2. Closure member 10 has a body portion 12 on which is formed a hollow rib 14, shown here as being substantially circular and of somewhat larger diameter than the thickness of the body portion. The rib may be solid although this is more expensive and/ or of different cross-sectional configuration. Groove 16 and flat portion 18 are simultaneously formed at the lower end of body portion 12 by extrusion. It is understood that since this member is formed by extrusion, elements 12, 14, 16 and 18 extend the length thereof. Closure member 10 is die cut to remove the material bounded by phantom line 48 and to form handle portion 50. The same die cutting operation forms hand opening 52 as well as apertures 54 which are convenient for neatly hanging the bag on a display or dispensing rack.

Similarly, outer closure member 20 is formed by extruding a plastic such as polyethylene. The outer closure member is hollow and is comprised of longitudinal walls 22, 24 and 26. Inwardly disposed rib 30 is formed on wall 22 as is a downwardly extending thin sectional strip 32. By way of example, wall 22 of closure member 20 may range from 0.025" thick to 0.75" thick, preferably being 0.030" thick, and strip 32 may range from 0.005" thick to 0.025" thick, preferably being 0.010" thick. Closure member 20 is cut to a suitable length and walls 22 and 24 are removed at 56a and 56b to provide clearance for handle 50 when the closure members are assembled in locking relationship.

Rib 30 is adapted to mate with groove 16, the two elements being dimensioned such that they snap together that since the inner closure member 20 is formed by extrusion, elements 22, 24, 26, 30 and 32 extend the length thereof.

In FIG. 5 there is fragmentarily shown, with parts broken away, a complete bag assembly 34. Bag 36 is comprised of front and rear plane areas 38 and 40, respectively, joined along side edges 42 and 44 and bottom edge 46 to define an open topped container. As will be described more fully hereinafter, the front and rear plane areas 38 and 40, shown in FIG. 5, have already been heat sealed to the closure members and 20.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the cross sectional relationship of the closure members and the bag. For purposes of discussion, it will be considered that the bag has already been opened once and then reclosed. The various seal breaking embodiments will be described subsequently. It is shown in FIG. 6 (with the bag omitted) how the closure members 10 and nest within one another and are locked together. Body portion 18 fits snugly within the hollow defined by walls 22, 24 and 26, with rib seated in groove 16. Thus it will be seen that even with the bag filled to capacity, the closure members will not gap apart along the length of the open end of the bag. FIG. 7 (with the bag omitted) and FIG. 8 illustrate the same relationship at different points along the length of the closure members.

FIGS. 9 and 9A illustrate one embodiment for sealing the bag in such a manner that it is reusable and relockable. Perforations 58 are provided in the form of a longitudinal line in member 20 proximate the juncture of thin section 32 and wall 22. Heat sealed bonds are formed in three places, indicated as x, y and 1. Rear plane area 40 of the bag is sealed along the length of wall 26 of closure member 20 at x. Front plane area 38 of the bag is sealed to both closure members 10 and 20 along the length of the lowest portion of body portion 18 at y and along the length of thin sectioned strip 32 at z, respectively. Thus it will be seen that the bag may be opened by tearing outer closure member 20 along perforations 58. The rear plane area 40 thereby remains secured to closure member 20 and front plane area 38 remains secured only to closure member 16. The bag is therefore reusable and also relockable.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 10A illustrate an alternate position for the perforations. The bag is heat sealed to the closure members in the same three places specified hereinabove. However, in this embodiment, the bag is perforated along line 60 which is parallel to and in between the two sealed areas of the front plane area of the bag.

Once again, tearing along the perforated line will leave the front of the bag secured to the inner closure member and the rear of the bag secured to the outer closure member. In this embodiment, tear string 61 is provided whereby pulling on the string opens the bag. The bag then is reusable and relockable.

A combination and variation of the two aforementioned embodiments is illustrated in FIG. 11 and FIG. 11A. The bag is again sealed to the closure members at x, y and z, but this time two rows of perforations 62 and 64 are provided. In this manner, the thin sectioned strip 32 becomes, in efie-ct, a tear strip and may be so used to open the bag. By tearing along lines 62 and 64, the front of the bag remains attached to the inner closure member and the rear of the bag remains attached to the outer closure member along the respective lengths thereof.

To facilitate the tearing action described hereinbefore with respect to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, each of the plane areas proximate the open end of the bag are folded over 011 themselves and sealed to the closure members. This provides grippable tab portions T shown in FIGS. 8, 9A and 10A.

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 illustrate the alternative closure members in vertical, transverse cross section. Both members are formed by extrusion. Inner closure member 4 70 has a main body portion 72 comprised of two opposed vertical faces 74 and 76, as well as two transverse horizontal faces 78 and 8t). Faces 74, 76, 73 and 80 extend the full length of closure member 70 which is die cut in the same manner as the previous embodiment to provide a handle portion 82 in the form of web 83.

Outer closure member 34 is hollow in cross section, being comprised of a vertical wall 86, upper and lower walls 88 and 90 depending therefrom and an incomplete vertical wall comprised of downwardly and upwardly projecting segments 92a and 9212, respectively. In the bag closed condition, member 72 nests within member 84 with the wall segments 92a and 92b overlaying at least a portion of wall 76.

FIG. 14 illustrates the alternative inner and outer closure members in their assembled condition with a thin film plastic bag heat sealed thereto. The bag is permanently joined only to outer closure member along the length of one side, as indicated at v. On the opposite parallel side, the bag is heat sealed to both the inner and outer closure member along the length thereof, as indicated at w. In this state, the interior of the bag is sealed and yet when the heat sealing is broken at w the closure members are separable and the bag is reusable. It will be seen in FIG. 14 that the inner closure member is retained on the right hand side of the bag and the outer closure member is retained on the left hand side of the bag. As in the previous embodiments, the end of the open bag may be folded over upon itself to form gripping areas T which are subsequently utilized to break the seal.

Still another feature of the present invention is illustrated in connection with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, although it should be understood that the particular feature may be incorporated in any or all of the previous embodiments. The topmost part 94 of handle portion 82, comparable to rib 14 of FIG. 1, is hollow and is provided with a longitudinal slit 96 at the juncture of the curved portion and the straight vertical portion. The plastic material is relatively thin and deformable permitting the device to be hung on a clothesline as a clothespin bag. The position of slit 96 is shown by way of example, it being understood that under certain conditions, the slit may be positioned up higher or closer to the horizontal center line of hollow member 94.

The article described hereinabove and illustrated by the drawing is highly utilitarian. At an extremely low cost, the bag is initially pilferproof and is subsequently reusable. The novel means of nesting the open ends of the bag assures that, when fully loaded, the container will not gap open. The closure means provided integrally with the container positively locks the open end of the container throughout the usable life thereof.

It is to be understood that the bag face may be sealed to but one of the closure members thus avoiding the need to break the sea-l where it is desired to make the bag openable for ready access to the contents.

The handle may beused with plastic film bags, plastic mesh bags, and paper or cloth bags provided with plastic sealable surfaces. While heat sealing is preferred, solvent adhesive or other conventional sealing techniques may be employed.

There has been disclosed heretofore the best embodiments of the invention presently contemplated and it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A container with integral closure means comprising:

(A) a thin film plastic bag having two opposed plane areas joined on three marginal, continuous edges to define a container having an open end along the fourth marginal edge;

(B) a first plastic closure member heat-sealed to one of the two opposed plane areas of said bag proximatethe open end thereof;

(a) said first closure member being solid in cross section and comprised of two opposed, substantially vertical faces and two opposed substantially horizontal faces extending the length thereof;

(C) first locking means integral with said first closure means, said locking means extending the length of said first closure member;

(D) a second plastic closure member heat-sealed to both plane areas of said bag proximate the open end thereof, and in opposition to said first closure member, said second closure member adapted to releasably grip said first closure member on at least three sides thereof,

(a) said second closure member being hollow and adapted to encompass at least three sides and a portion of the fourth side of said first closure member whereby said first closure member is resiliently and releasably nested within said second closure member; and

(E) second locking means integral with said second closure member in mating opposition to said first locking means.

2. Closure means for a heat-scalable plastic bag having one elongated open end, said closure means comprising, in combination:

(A) a first multisided plastic member adapted to be heat-sealed to the inside surface of the plastic bag proximate the open end thereof;

(a) said first closure member being solid in cross section and comprised of two opposed, substantially vertical faces and two opposed, substantially horizontal faces extending the length thereof;

(B) a first locking means integral with said first multisided plastic member and extending the length thereof;

(C) a second multisided plastic member adapted to be heat-sealed to the inside surface of the plastic bag proximate the open end thereof and in opposition to said firs-t closure member, at least three sides of said second member being in confronting relationship with three sides of said first member when said members are in the assembled condition to thereby close the open end of the bag,

(a) said second closure member being hollow and adapted to encompass at least three sides and a portion of the fourth side of said first closure member whereby said first closure member is 6 resiliently and releasably nested within said second closure member; and

(D) second locking means integral with said second multisided plastic member and extending substantially the entire length thereof whereby when the bag end is closed, said first locking means is resiliently retained by said second locking means.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein a portion of said second closure member heat sealed to said bag includes a frangible strip, there being formed on said strip a line of minimum cross section parallel to and extending the length of said second closure member.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said bag is frangible along a perforated line formed on one of the plane areas of said bag proximate to and extending the length of the lowest edge of said second closure member.

5 The device of claim 1 wherein a portion of said second closure member heat sealed to said bag includes a frangible strip, there being formed on said strip a line of minimum cross section parallel to and extending the length of said second closure member and wherein said bag is also frangible along a perforated line formed in one of the plane areas of said bag proximate to and extending the length of the lowest edge of said second closure member.

6. The device of claim 2 wherein a portion of said second plastic member heat sealed to the bag includes a References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,978,769 4/1961 Harrah 3 3,181,583 5/1965 Lingenfelter 150-3 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,324,366 3/1963 France.

965 ,2,58 7/ 1964 Great Britain.

998,967 7/ 1965 Great Britain.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER WITH INTEGRAL CLOSURE MEANS COMPRISING: (A) A THIN FILM PLASTIC BAG HAVING TWO OPPOSED PLANE AREAS JOINED ON THREE MARGINAL, CONTINUOUS EDGES TO DEFINE A CONTAINER HAVING AN OPEN END ALONG THE FOURTH MARGINAL EDGE; (B) A FIRST PLASTIC CLOSURE MEMBER HEAT-SEALED TO ONE OF THE TWO OPPOSED PLANE AREAS OF SAID BAG PROXIMATE THE OPEN END THEREOF; (A) SAID FIRST CLOSURE MEMBER BEING SOLID IN CROSS SECTION AND COMPRISED OF TWO OPPOSED, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL FACES AND TWO OPPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL FACES EXTENDING THE LENGTH THEREOF; (C) FIRST LOCKING MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID FIRST CLOSURE MEANS, SAID LOCKING MEANS EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF SAID FIRST CLOSURE MEMBER; (D) A SECOND PLASTIC CLOSURE MEMBER HEAT-SEALED TO BOTH PLANE AREAS OF SAID BAG PROXIMATE THE OPEN END THEREOF, AND IN OPPOSITION TO SAID FIRST CLOSURE MEMBER, SAID SECOND CLOSURE MEMBER ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY GRIP SAID FIRST CLOSURE MEMBER ON AT LEAST THREE SIDES THEREOF, (A) SAID SECOND CLOSURE MEMBER BEING HOLLOW AND ADAPTED TO ENCOMPASS AT LEAST THREE SIDES AND A PORTION OF THE FOURTH SIDE OF SAID FIRST CLOSURE MEMBER WHEREBY SAID FIRST CLOSURE MEMBER IS RESILIENTLY AND RELEASABLY NESTED WITHIN SAID SECOND CLOSURE MEMBER; AND (E) SECOND LOCKING MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID SECOND CLOSURE MEMBER IN MATING OPPOSITION TO SAID FIRST LOCKING MEANS. 